World Sickle Cell Day June 19, 2016

World Sickle Cell Day

June 19th 2016

The General Assembly of the United Nations declared June 19th as World Sickle Cell Day. Why this date???

June 19 2008 the UN recognized Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) as a public health concern.

This day is to help increase awareness about sickle cell disease.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a disease where the body makes crescent or sickle shaped blood cells. Normally red blood cells are flat disc shape cells. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Sickle cells contain crescent shaped hemoglobin which causes the red blood cells to take on a crescent or sickle shape. These sticky and stiff sickle shaped red blood cells tend to block and/or inhibit blood flow to the body. This can damage an organ or cause pain. Plus the risk of infection can increase.

SCD is an inherited blood disorder.

Life span of red blood cells

Normal red blood cells live about 120 days in the blood stream. Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow of large bones in the body. Red blood cells (RBC) carry oxygen to the other cells in your body and remove carbon dioxide.

Sickle cells on the other hand only live 10-20 days. Unfortunately the bone marrow can not produce new RBC quick enough to replace the dying cells.

Who is at risk?

There are several ethnic groups whom this disease affects: people from Africa, South America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, India, Saudi Arabia and Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece and Italy.

Treatment/Cure

SCD affects millions of people world wide. Unfortunately, there currently is no cure.